Departures and Returns
by alexopedia
Summary: What would have happened if Lorelai and Luke kissed the night he walked her home from Liz's wedding? 3-part au story set 5 years after Lorelai leaves Stars Hollow. Read to find out what has happened and everything that changed since she left. Will Lorelai and Luke finally get past that friendship barrier they have been stuck behind for years? (JavaJunkie) (some Literati too)
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N – This is a new story and I'm actually really excited and proud of it. As of right now, it will most likely be two chapters. they'll both be pretty long, though.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and please review!**_

 _ **Disclaimer – The usual… I don't own Gilmore girls or any of the characters (obviously) but you already know that.**_

 _ **Also, I have another Gilmore girls story. It's called Falling for Forever and I'd love if you'd read it and review!**_

 _ **Okay, sorry that was a lot. Let's get into the story!**_

* * *

" _Luke, I'm leaving…"_

Luke remembered those words like it happened yesterday. Five years ago, Lorelai left. Right after the wedding – the wedding he invited her to as his date – she told him she was leaving. He had just realized that Lorelai was perfect for him. He listened to sappy self help tapes and read books about love and he realized that Lorelai was the one for him. She had been there the whole time. Sure, at times, he liked her, and he always saw a future with her, but when he was finally ready to have that, to have that future, she left. It's been five years since he had seen her, five years since he had talked to her… Five miserable years.

" _I had a really great time tonight." Luke told her._

" _Me too." Lorelai smiled up at him._

" _Yeah?" He asked, taking a step closer._

" _Yeah," Lorelai responded seductively._

 _Luke put one hand on her waist and pulled her closer. His other hand rested on her cheek, as he pulled her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back softly. He loved the feeling of her soft lips, and she loved the feeling of his freshly shaven stubble, but after a few seconds, Lorelai pulled away._

" _I'm sorry," she said, putting her hand up to her mouth and taking a step back._

" _What? Why?" Luke asked._

" _I… Luke, I'm leaving." Lorelai closed her eyes, waiting for a response._

" _What?" Luke asked quietly, staring at the ground._

" _I'm leaving."_

" _Lorelai…"_

" _I'm going to New York."_

 _Luke couldn't look at her. "How long will you be gone?" He asked, still staring at the ground._

" _We're selling the house…"_

" _What?" Luke's eyes snapped up to Lorelai's. He looked over at the Gilmore house, the crap shack, the place where he had fixed so many problems; so many messes._

" _Rory's at Yale, and I'll be in New York… we can't keep the house."_

 _Luke stayed silent for a moment before he finally spoke again. "So you're not coming back?" He asked with a disappointed tone. His eyes frantically searched the yard for anything to distract him from looking at Lorelai._

" _I don't know…" Lorelai's eyes turned glassy. She could tell Luke was hurt, and she hated seeing him that way._

" _Why?" He asked again, focusing on the chuppah he made her when she was engaged to Max._

" _Everything here is just too much. I can't deal with it all. And I've got a lot of opportunities in New York. I needed a change and I'm deciding to make it."_

 _Luke sighed. "When do you leave?"_

" _Two days."_

 _Luke's eyes shot back to her again. "Were you even going to tell me?" His tone was more harsh now._

" _Luke, of course." Lorelai put her hand out to touch his shoulder, but he pulled away._

" _Two days." He repeated. He had looked back down to the ground._

 _Lorelai nodded and Luke started to walk away._

" _Luke!" She called out to him, hoping he'd turn around so they could talk about it more._

 _He put his hand up to say 'I need to be alone' or 'don't come after me' or 'give me space.'_

Luke always thought about Lorelai when it snowed. It had been five years since he saw her last, and he shouldn't even be thinking about her anymore. He had moved on, and he was sure that Lorelai had moved on in New York with all those 'GQ'd up' up guys that she seemed to like so much.

"Luke? Come inside honey," Katie called out. Luke was sitting on the steps of her house as it snowed around him.

"I'm fine…" he said.

"Luke, as your girlfriend, I really want you to stay alive. Come on, you'll freeze out here." She held her hand out to him.

Luke took her hand and stood up, following Katie into her house. They watched a movie and Luke made dinner. Luke usually loved being with Katie, but on this night, the first snow of the season, he couldn't help but be a little bit sad.

Once Katie had gone to sleep, Luke pulled a letter out of his wallet. The letter Lorelai gave him the day she left.

 _Luke,_

 _I'm not really sure what to say. I'm leaving, but you already know that. And I told you I'm leaving because everything here is too much for me and I need a change. I promise, you are not part of the reason I'm leaving. You're one of the only reasons I have stayed this long._

 _The Inn… well, Sookie and Michel can handle the Inn. They'll find another amazing person to run the Inn. I know this is terrible timing, but I really need to leave. I can't stay here._

 _Anyways, I just want to say thank you, Luke. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you for feeding me, thank you for fixing things around the house, thank you for always being there for me to talk to, thank you for giving me coffee even though it will kill me, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for caring so much about Rory._

 _About this kiss, um, it was really unexpected. I didn't plan for that to happen, and I'd never want to hurt you like that on purpose. It was a great kiss. No, not great. Luke, it was so incredibly amazing and I'm sorry that we won't be able to do it again. I'm so, so sorry, Luke, you have no idea._

 _I know I should tell you all this in person, but I'd get too emotional and I'd forget what I wanted to say… I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just didn't know how. I'm sorry for all the crap I've put you through… crap that was probably all my fault or crap that I totally over exaggerated._

 _God, how many times can I say sorry in one letter. I guess one more._

 _Luke, I love you for all these things and more, and I'm so sorry, but I have to go._

 _-Lorelai_

Luke pulled this letter out every so often and read it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get over Lorelai Gilmore.

When she first left, he'd sit on the stairs of her front porch with the letter in his hands, waiting and hoping he'd see her car pull up in the driveway. He hoped it was just some sick joke, but it wasn't. She was really gone.

After that night, the wedding night, Luke never spoke to Lorelai again. She didn't come in the diner for coffee or anything. She slid the letter under his door when he was sleeping. He couldn't even call her after she left because she got a new phone. Even if he could call her, he wouldn't know what to say.

Luke got out of Katie's bed and went downstairs. He wrote a note so she wouldn't be worried when she woke up.

 _I've got an early delivery tomorrow so I need to stay at the diner tonight. I'll see you soon._

 _-Luke_

When he got back to the diner, he tried to sleep, but he couldn't. This time of year, winter, was always hard for him.

* * *

The next day, Luke opened up the diner.

"Luke, this isn't right," Kirk complained.

"What?"

"You didn't make my sandwich right."

"I don't care."

"Well can you ple-"

"No." Luke responded loudly before he walked away back into the storage room.

"Aw poor Kirk," Babette said.

"Poor Luke." Ms. Patty replied. "This time of year is always so hard for him."

"Oh I know. He's always so grumpy."

"That poor thing. It's been 5 years and he still can't get over her."

"Well he lives with his girlfriend." Babette pointed out.

"Oh please. He's no where near as happy with little Katie as he was with Lorelai. And he wasn't even dating Lorelai! Man, he loved that girl." Patty rambled on without realizing Katie had just entered the diner. When Patty saw her, she lowered her voice. "Plus he still keeps all his stuff in his apartment upstairs."

"Really?" Babette asked quietly. "Hasn't he been staying there for over a year?"

Patty nodded and the two of them looked over at Katie who was now sitting at the register.

When Luke came out of the storage room, he saw her.

"Hey!" She said happily.

"Hi." Luke responded, giving her a quick kiss. He realized where she was sitting – the stool next to the register - Lorelai's spot. It never really bothered him when people sat there, but right now, it did. "Can you move over a stool?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" She asked, scooting over.

"Oh, uh, no reason."

Katie brushed off his response and asked him a question. "Would you say you live with me?"

"Yeah, I guess." Luke shrugged.

"Don't you think you should _really_ move in? Like, bring all your stuff from your apartment over."

"Do you want me to?"

"Of course," she responded, noticing he seemed distant today.

"Then yeah… I'll bring my stuff."

"Okay… I have to head off to work. I'll be back tonight," she said, giving him another kiss.

"Okay."

"I love you."

Luke smiled. "Yeah. You too."

Katie gave Patty and Babette a glare as she walked out the door, and Luke started wiping down the counter.

"Luke you-"

"Shut it Kirk."

"Geez, you really get cranky when it snows." Kirk responded.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Since Lorelai liked the snow and now she's gone and snow reminds you of her. You get cranky."

Luke wanted to yell at Kirk, but he knew deep inside that Kirk was right. It had been five years, but it still got to him. Luke left his towel on the counter and went upstairs.

* * *

In New York, Lorelai was working hard. She trained/taught one of those business classes that her and Sookie always made fun of. She had become everything she never wanted to be. She got up every day at the same time and taught the same thing every day. After her classes, she'd either go home and watch tv, hang out with Rory (which wasn't too often because Rory graduated from Yale and was off doing her journalism things) or go on some crappy date.

Lorelai didn't like big city dating. She didn't like setting up times and meeting at restaurants and deciding whether or not she ever wanted to see the man again. She liked dating back in Connecticut. Chance encounters and unscheduled lunches. She liked seeing the man every day and knowing where to find him.

Lorelai went on tons of dates in New York, but no guy ever made it past a third date. She just couldn't find _that man._

Her first year in New York was fun. She was exploring, she saw all the sights. But once she got into a routine. It was boring, and lonely. None of her neighbors were nice, and the city was too big to get to know everyone. Stars Hollow was great, everyone knew everyone and it was never lonely. There was always something going on, and there was always another person to talk to, no matter what. New York wasn't working out.

* * *

 _"Hello?"_ Rory answered the phone.

"Let's go."

" _What?"_

"Rory, lets go back." Lorelai responded.

" _Really?"_ Rory asked, excited.

"Yes. Rory let's go."

" _Ahh! Mom! What about New York. What about your job?"_

"I quit today. Rory I'm done here. I hate it here."

" _I know you do. You're really going back?"_

"Yeah. I got the invitation to Sookie's baby shower the other day-"

" _Wait, Sookie is having another kid? I thought they couldn't…"_

"Well she's pregnant so… anyways, I got the invitation and I started thinking. Why am I here? There's nothing keeping me here. I don't know if I'll stay in Stars Hollow, but I know I can't stay here."

" _When are you leaving?"_

"I'm flying to Hartford tomorrow."

" _I'll meet you there. I'm working on a new piece right now and I can write it from wherever."_

"Do you think it's changed?" Lorelai asked.

" _The Hollow? Nah, it never changes."_

Neither of them were sure though. Lorelai had been gone for 5 years and Rory had only been back a few times to see Lane. Since her mom left, Rory really never had much reason to go back to Stars Hollow. While she was at Yale, she pretty much stayed on campus. She only visited the Hollow every once in a while to see Lane, and that's all she did. She went straight to Lane's house, and straight to Yale.

" _When's the shower?"_ Rory asked.

"It's on Saturday."

" _Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Mom."_

"I love you."

" _Love you too."_

* * *

The next day, Lorelai got off her plane. She waited in the airport for a few hours for Rory.

"Mom!" Rory called out.

"Rory!" They ran to each other.

"It's been too long."

"Let's never go months without seeing each other again."

"I'm good with that," Rory responded, hugging her mother. "Are you excited?" Rory asked, pulling away.

"For what?"

"To be back. To see Sookie and Michel and Luke and Patty."

Lorelai's stomach clenched when Rory mentioned Luke. Lorelai never told anyone about the kiss or the letter she left. She kept it inside all these years, and she had no idea what was going to happen when she saw him again. She wondered if the townspeople of Stars Hollow knew about the kiss, of it Luke never told anyone either. She decided to change the subject. "Yeah. Yeah, I called Sookie and she said we could stay at the Inn."

"Really? That's awesome. I'm so excited to see it. I mean, you left the day it opened and Sookie and Michel have been running it for years. Ooh, I wonder who replaced you!"

"Rory!"

"Sorry."

"Lets go," Lorelai said, grabbing her bag.

Rory and Lorelai made their way out of the airport.

They decided to stop by Emily and Richard's first.

"Well, hello Lorelai. Rory." Emily greeted at the door.

"Hi Mom." Lorelai responded with a fake smile.

Emily led them into the living room where Richard was already sitting.

"Hello Lorelai. Rory it is lovely to see you." Richard greeted.

"Hi, Grandpa." Rory smiled.

"What brings you here, Lorelai?" Emily asked bluntly.

"Why do you assume I want something every time I come over?" Lorelai asked.

"Well you haven't seen us in five years, Lorelai. And then you call us out of the blue and say you're coming to visit. What did you expect us to think? At least Rory comes to see us," Emily said in her usual accusatory voice.

"Mom, Rory lived less than an hour away from you. I was in New York. I couldn't come for weekly visits."

"Oh please Lorelai."

"Emily!" Richard tried to stop the fight.

"You hate us and you only visit when you need money, and on holidays, and for Friday dinners. I bet you couldn't wait to move far, far away and never have to come to dinner again." Emily stood up and talked down to Lorelai.

"Mom! I'm here now, okay? I'm not here for money, and I don't think any national holidays are today, so, can we just start over?"

Emily sat back down in her chair. "Fine."

The rest of the night wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. They talked about life and New York and Yale and journalism. They talked about Emily and Richards upcoming vacations. The night was sort of boring. None of the conversations really meant anything. It was kind of refreshing.

At the end of the night, Richard gave them money to pay for a cab up to Stars Hollow.

It was around 9:00 when they got there. Rory made sure to text Lane and right when they got there, Rory went to help out and say hi to Lane and Zack's kids. Lorelai headed straight to the Inn to see Sookie.

When Lorelai got there, she didn't even think. She went straight towards the kitchen. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked.

"Oh, I was going to see Sookie." Lorelai responded.

"You have to be an employee to enter the kitchen."

"Honey, I built this place." Lorelai responded, she was too tired to deal with this, and to be honest, a little tipsy.

"Wait. You're Lorelai?" She asked.

"Yeah. And who are you?"

"I'm Katie. I'm the manager here now."

"Ahh. Well, Katie. Can I go see my pregnant best friend now?"

Katie moved out of the way and Lorelai entered the kitchen.

"SOOKIE!" She yelled.

"AHH! LORELAI!" Sookie came up to her and gave her a huge hug.

"It's been so long!"

"I know! You need to visit more often."

"Hopefully," Lorelai responded.

"So, tell me, tell me all about New York!"

"Well, its crowded, it stinks, and the people there are really rude."

"Oh." Sookie winced.

"Yeah. Now tell me all the gossip!"

"Okay. Kirk and Lulu are engaged." Sookie thought for a moment. "Actually that's really the only thing that's changed. It's the same ol' Stars Hollow with a new scandal everyday that everyone forgets about after a week."

"Really?" Lorelai asked. "No new street lights? No new businesses?"

"No." Sookie shook her head.

"Okay, what about my replacement. How's she?"

"Oh she's great. She's really sweet and nice to all the customers. I wouldn't say we're friends or anything but she's nice to everyone. Michel hates her though."

"Well, Michel hates everyone." Lorelai laughed. "Okay, new subject. How far along are you?"

"Seven months." Sookie replied happily.

"Seven? Damn Sook, we need to talk more."

"Yes we do." Sookie agreed.

"Where is Michel?" Lorelai asked.

"Um, he should be around here somewhere. He usually comes in around 10:00."

"Oh, ok."

Lorelai and Sookie continued to talk for hours until Rory came back. Around midnight, they finally went upstairs to their room.

* * *

Meanwhile Luke finished packing up all his stuff from his apartment above the diner.

"Okay," he said to Katie as he came down the stairs.

"You ready?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Okay lets go."

Luke packed up the truck and they drove over to her house. On the way, she couldn't help but bring up Lorelai.

"So, do you remember the woman that used to own the Inn?" Katie asked.

Luke's stomach clenched. He _never_ talked about Lorelai. He especially never talked about Lorelai to Katie. "Um, you mean Lorelai?"

"Yeah, yeah," Katie said, eyeing him, searching for a reaction. Like always had a great poker face though, and no one really ever knew what he was thinking.

Luke never told her about Lorelai, but she has heard story after story from the townspeople about how perfect him and Lorelai were for each other and about how happy he used to be.

Luke didn't want to ask, but he had to. "Why?"

"Oh, it's just because she's here, in town."

"What? Lorelai's here?" Luke's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, I think she was drunk, and she yelled at me to get the hell out of her way so she could talk to Sookie."

Luke laughed.

"What?" Katie asked.

"Sorry," Luke said when he stopped laughing. "That's just definitely a Lorelai thing to do."

"Oh…" Katie said, looking down at the floor.

For the rest of the night, Luke pretended like he didn't care that Lorelai was back. But really, all he wanted to do was find her, and talk to her. He had no idea what he would say to her after all these years, but he just had to see her. What if she was married, though? What if she had another kid? What if she was pregnant? Wait, she couldn't be pregnant if she had been drinking. He couldn't deal with all these thoughts and questions. He was pretending to sleep all night, but he was wide awake the whole time, with thoughts rushing through his brain.

When the alarm finally went off in the morning, Luke got up and rushed to get ready.

"Hey," Katie said when she came up to him in the bathroom.

"Hey."

"You look really tired," she pointed out.

"I didn't sleep too well," he said, looking down at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"I have to go to work." Luke bent down and gave her a kiss, and then walked off.

"Okay…" she said softly to herself and the, now empty, bathroom.

At the diner, Luke couldn't focus. Every time the bell on the door rung, he'd look up hoping it was Lorelai. But, of course it wouldn't be her. She never came in this early. She probably wasn't even awake. No one was talking about her, not Taylor, not even Babette or Ms. Patty. Somehow, he finally wasn't the last one to get the information.

* * *

"What time is it?" Rory asked when she woke up and saw that Lorelai was already dressed.

"Um, 7 ish."

"How are you awake?"

"I had to get up early for my job. I'm kind of used to it now." Lorelai shrugged.

"Well I'm glad I make my own hours," Rory said, plopping back down on the pillow.

"No, get up. We have to go get a present for Sookie. The baby shower is tomorrow." Lorelai started to pull Rory out of bed.

"Why didn't you just get her one while we were in New York?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that." Lorelai paused for a second. "Now, get up because we have to go to Hartford because all the baby stuff here will already be sold and I don't want to get the same gift as someone else."

"Fine, but only if we get Luke's first." Rory got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

"Oh. Okay." Lorelai responded quietly.

"It's been way too long since I had Luke's coffee." Rory called out from the bathroom. "How did you last five years without it?"

"I don't know." Lorelai called back to her.

When Rory was ready, they went down to the lobby.

"Hi guys," Katie greeted.

"Um, hi," Lorelai responded. "This is my daughter, Rory."

"Hey."

"Hi, I'm Katie."

Katie and Rory shook hands.

"You must be the new manager," Rory said.

"Well, it's been 5 years, but."

"Oh, well yeah. Wow." Rory thought about how long the Inn has actually been running. It still seems so new.

"Um, can we go talk to Sookie?" Lorelai asked.

"Sure." Katie didn't want non-employees in the kitchen but she could also tell that she didn't want to make Lorelai mad.

Lorelai and Rory came into the kitchen.

"Hey Sook." Lorelai called out.

"Hi babes!" Sookie came up and hugged both of them.

"What do you want?" Lorelai asked.

"What?"

"For the baby. What do you want?"

"Oh I don't care," Sookie said.

"Mom! You can't ask her what she wants. We have to surprise her." Rory gave her mom a soft punch on the arm.

"Ugh. Fine," Lorelai said with a fake disappointed tone. "We're headed out, we'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay, bye guys."

Lorelai and Rory went to stop by Luke's and get some coffee. Lorelai wasn't sure what to expect. Would he be sad? Would he be happy? Would act like he didn't care even though he did? Lorelai did always have a hard time reading him. She could never tell exactly what he was thinking. Sometimes she thought, maybe she could read him, but she just ignored it. She refused to accept what she thought he was thinking.

Before she knew it, they were standing outside the diner. Lorelai looked inside and didn't see Luke. Ms. Patty gasped when they walked in.

"Lorelai! Rory! Sweeties, come here!" Patty got up and hugged them. "Oh we've all missed you so much!"

When Luke heard their names and the big commotion, he came out of the storage room. Both Rory and Lorelai were facing away from him and they didn't see that he was now behind the counter.

"We've missed you all too." Rory said.

"Hey Kirk," Lorelai greeted when she saw Kirk at a table with a menu up, trying to hide himself.

"Lorelai," he said without looking at her.

"What's wrong Kirk?" Lorelai asked.

"You made Luke sad and now he's mean to me."

Lorelai's stomach clenched again. "Kirk," she said, sitting down. "Come on, Kirk, look at me." Lorelai pushed his menu down. "There you go," she said when his eyes met hers.

"What?" Kirk asked.

"You're engaged!"

Kirk let out a small smile.

"Ahh there it is!" Lorelai said, referring to his smile. "I knew you had it in you."

Kirk smiled again. "Welcome back."

"Why thank you, Kirk."

"Luke!" Rory yelled, running up to him.

Lorelai turned around quickly and watched Luke take her daughter into his arms for a big hug.

"Hey, kid," he said, looking down at her.

"Hey, Luke," Lorelai said with a smile as she walked over to them.

"Lorelai." He greeted her with a head nod and a nervous smile.

Rory and Lorelai sat down at the counter, and Luke's heart started beating faster when he saw Lorelai in her usual place next to the register. He made sure to check to see if she was wearing a ring. She wasn't.

"God, this place hasn't changed a bit," Rory noticed.

Luke handed them two cups and then started to pour the coffee. Lorelai checked to see if Luke was wearing a ring. He wasn't.

"No speech?" Lorelai asked.

Luke looked up at her and then started to spill the coffee.

"Luke!" Rory yelped when the hot coffee spilled into her lap.

"Oh! Sorry!" Luke pulled the coffee pot away and grabbed towels. He handed them to Rory and she started to pat herself dry.

"Can we?" Lorelai asked, looking over to the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah go run it under cold water." Luke said referring to the stain.

"Thanks." Rory went up to Luke's apartment and Lorelai followed.

"Woah," Lorelai said when they opened the door. Everything in the apartment was gone except for the furniture.

"Yeah." Rory replied, looking around.

Lorelai shook out of her thoughts. "Okay, come on." Lorelai led Rory over to the bathroom sink where she took off her pants and started washing them.

"I'm going to head back down…" Lorelai stated.

"Okay, bye Mom," Rory said, scrubbing at her pants under the faucet.

Lorelai walked back down the stairs and found Luke wiping down the counters.

"Well, that was different," she said, sitting back down at her usual spot.

"What?" He asked.

Lorelai looked up at the ceiling and he realized what she meant.

"Oh, um. Yeah. I moved. Uh, yesterday," Luke said nervously.

"Really? Where?"

"It's just outside of town. Only a few minutes away."

"Oh," Lorelai responded.

Luke grabbed another cup and filled it with coffee for Lorelai.

"Sorry about that."

"Oh, she'll be fine. We were going to catch a bus to Hartford but I guess we have to stop back at the Inn, now."

"Wait. You don't have the Jeep?" Luke asked.

"No, it's still in New York." Lorelai could tell Luke was uncomfortable, and so was she.

"Oh, so, you're not staying?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, I might. I uh, I quit my job. I'm totally unattached. I could go anywhere I want, I guess," Lorelai said, realizing how scary that sounded. She had no where to go. She didn't want to go back to her apartment in New York, and she wasn't sure if she'd stay here. She was totally free, and it scared her.

"How did you get here?" He asked.

"We flew."

"Why? It's faster to drive." He pointed out.

"The Jeep isn't doing so well anymore, and flying is fun."

"You're crazy." He rolled his eyes.

"I know." Lorelai flashed him a smile.

"I can drive you and Rory back to the Inn," Luke said. Lorelai raised her eyebrows and Luke clarified. "I mean so Rory doesn't have to walk back with coffee stained, wet pants."

Lorelai leaned back a little, realizing how close they were. "Oh, um. Okay."

Luke gave her a nod and then went around to check on everyone else in the diner.

"So…" Patty said to Luke in a knowing voice. "What now?" She gestured to Lorelai.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, annoyed.

"I mean, now that Lorelai's back." Patty gestured to Lorelai up at the counter.

"Nothing." Luke replied gruffly.

"Nothing? But Luke, you have to tell her you love her." Patty replied.

"No. And keep your voice down," he said, looking back to Lorelai to see if she heard anything. "Patty I have a girlfriend," he said quietly.

"Oh please. That girl is nothing compared to Lorelai. Come on, Luke. You know it. No one will ever be as perfect for each other as you and Lorelai."

"Aw geez," Luke said, walking away from Patty.

"Think about it!" Patty called to him.

"No!" He yelled back.

He hadn't told anyone about the kiss either. Well, except for Kirk. Somehow, Kirk got it out of him. No one knew what happened, they just knew that Lorelai leaving broke him. Luke was broken, and he still wasn't fixed. He got better at hiding it throughout the years, and he was slowly healing, but everyone in town knew that Luke missed Lorelai.

He went back to the counter and started wiping it down again.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing," Luke replied harshly. He looked up and everyone at the diner was staring at him. "Sorry," he said, his voice getting softer. "I'm just. Dealing with a lot right now."

"Oh, okay," Lorelai said with a sigh. "I'm sorry too."

"Why?" He asked, looking up at her.

"The way I left. It wasn't right, I'm sorry."

He looked into her eyes sadly but before he could speak, the bells on the diner door rung and in walked Katie.

"Hey," she said sitting a stool away from Lorelai. She leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Luke's lips.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she looked at Luke. Why didn't he tell her? Did Luke move because he was moving in with Katie?

"Uh, Lorelai, this is Katie…" Luke trailed off. "My girlfriend," he added quietly.

"Yeah, we've met," Lorelai responded. She looked over at Katie who seemed uncomfortable, and then back at Luke who seemed confused and nervous. "Um, I'm going to go check on Rory." Lorelai went back up the stairs.

"Hey…" Katie said, snapping Luke out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. Hi," he said.

"What was that?" Katie asked.

"What?"

"You never let people go up to your apartment," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well they're different."

"What?"

"No, I mean. Lorelai and Rory have been up there tons of times. Rory and my nephew Jess would hang out up there and… um… I actually have no idea why Lorelai came up there all the time." Luke looked around nervously.

"Luke, I know about your thing with Lorelai."

"What? What thing?" Luke asked even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You had a thing with Lorelai."

"What? Lorelai and I never had a 'thing'," he said with air quotes. "Who told you this?"

"The whole town!" Katie said, raising her voice. Everyone in the diner turned to look at them.

"The town is stupid," Luke said loudly so they would all hear him.

"Come on Luke, I know you like her." Katie lowered her voice again.

"Fine. I liked her, but that was 5 years ago. She left, and I moved on. Okay?" Luke said to Katie, but he didn't give her time to answer. "I moved on!" He yelled to everyone in the diner. He noticed that the people in the diner weren't looking at him anymore, they were looking at Lorelai and Rory who had just come down the stairs. Rory's pants were wet, but it was Stars Hollow. Weird things always happened in Stars Hollow, plus they all saw Luke spill on her.

"Um, we're going to go," Lorelai said, not making eye contact with Luke or Katie. She latched onto Rory.

"Wait, I was going to dr-" Luke started to speak but Lorelai cut him off, still not making eye contact.

"We can walk," she snapped back.

"Mom, it was kind of a long walk here," Rory pointed out.

"Well we walked it to come here, we can walk it back."

"Yeah, but my pants are wet."

"Well, that'll cool you off on the way."

Lorelai kept walking fast without looking back. Soon, the diner was out of sight.

"Mom, what was that?" Rory asked.

"That was Luke, and Luke's girlfriend."

"Really? Luke is dating her?" Rory asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Wait." Rory realized they were getting off topic. "No, I mean the thing about you."

Lorelai sighed and stopped walking. "We kissed," she said bluntly.

"What?" Rory asked excitedly.

"Luke and I, the night of the wedding. He kissed me, or I kissed him. I don't know. But then I left and I never saw him again. I wrote him a letter, but that was it. No contact."

"Mom! Why would you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Leave! Luke liked you for years and years and I'm guessing he thought you finally liked him too and then you left."

Lorelai started to feel bad. "I had already planned on leaving, Rory. The kiss, it was unexpected."

"Why didn't you tell him you were leaving?"

"I didn't know how!" Lorelai yelled, tears filling her eyes. "Okay? I didn't know how. I didn't want to hurt him, and I hate seeing him upset. I didn't want to upset him before his sisters wedding, so I waited until after, but then we kissed." She wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye with her sleeve.

"Okay…" Rory realized that this hurt Lorelai. "Well, what did you immediately think when I said we should go to Luke's?"

"I wondered if he'd be mad or sad or if he wouldn't care. I wondered if he was in a relationship or if he was the same ol' loner we knew and loved."

"Mom, is he the reason you didn't date anyone in New York?" Rory asked.

"I dated!"

"Seriously… is he the reason you didn't have any _serious_ relationships?"

"No. Well, yes and no. Here, I had Max, I had Chris, and there was Luke. Here, were nice men and I knew them and we had fun. In New York, it was impossible to get to know anyone. You'd have to set dates and hope nothing came up. Back then, I could see anyone whenever I wanted to. Even if I didn't want to. New York was just too much."

"Mom…" Rory said knowingly.

"I don't know, okay? I don't know. All I know, is whenever someone mentions his name, I get a huge lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach, okay?"

"Yeah," Rory replied sadly. They kept walking back to the Inn.

Meanwhile, Babette came bursting into the diner. "They kissed!" She yelled at Patty.

"What? Who kissed?" Patty asked. Everyone in the diner, including Luke and Katie were listening.

"Luke and Lorelai. Right before she left. They kissed." Babette said, out of breath.

"What?" Everyone gasped, turning to Luke.

"You kissed her?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, you kissed her? I had absolutely no idea," Kirk said unconvincingly.

Luke gave him a glare and then turned back to Katie. "It was 5 years ago! Why does it matter?"

"It obviously matters to you."

"No, it doesn't. Lorelai and I, we don't work. I don't care what this _stupid_ town says, but Lorelai and I just can't happen, it won't happen," Luke said, emphasizing the 'stupid' so people would hear him. "Wait, how did you know about that anyway?" Luke asked Babette.

"Oh, it was sad. Lorelai and Rory were out there talking about it. I was just walking by so I decided to listen. Oh! She also said she wrote you a letter. Where's the letter? Can we read it?"

"No!" Luke replied loudly.

"It's in his wallet. Check his back pocket," Kirk called out.

Luke gave him another glare before Babette stuck her hand into his back pocket, being a little more touchy than she needed to be. "Hey!" He said, pushing her away.

"I got it!" Babette called out, holding the letter in the air.

She handed it to Patty who started reading. "Luke,

I'm not really sure what to say. I'm leaving, but you already know that. And I told you I'm leaving because everything here is too much for me and I need a change. I promise, you are not part of the reason I'm leaving. You're one of the only reasons I have stayed this long.

I just want to say thank you, Luke. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you for feeding me, thank you for fixing things around the house, thank you for always being there for me to talk to, thank you for giving me coffee even though it will kill me, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for caring so much about Rory.

About this kiss, um, it was really unexpected. I didn't plan for that to happen, and I'd never want to hurt you like that on purpose. It was a great kiss.

I know I should tell you all this in person, but I'd get too emotional and I'd forget what I wanted to say… I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just didn't know how. I'm sorry for all the crap I've put you through… crap that was probably all my fault or crap that I totally over exaggerated.

Luke, I love you for all these things and more, and I'm so sorry, but I have to go.

-Lorelai."

By the end, Babette was crying, and Luke's eyes started to tear up.

"Doesn't mean anything, huh?" Katie asked sadly. He kept the letter in his wallet, he almost cried when it was read. Of course he still cared about Lorelai.

"Katie, wait…"

"I'll see you at home," she said, leaving the diner.

Luke looked around the diner at all the townspeople watching him.

"Luke, you can't deny it," Patty said.

"Deny what?" He asked even though he was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say.

"You're in love with Lorelai. Luke, you've been in love with that woman for over 10 years. Now's your chance, take it. Fight for Lorelai. Make her stay in town." Everyone nodded along with Patty's statement.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai has never wanted me before, and she doesn't want me now. I have a girlfriend, an amazing girlfriend, and I'm not going to screw that up for a chance with a woman I haven't seen in 5 years." Luke stormed over and grabbed the paper from Patty's hands before going upstairs to his empty apartment. Now, he really regretted moving in with Katie. He doesn't have a place to escape from all he townspeople. There were chairs and there was a bed, but there was nothing to do, and there were no sheets.

Downstairs, everyone was talking about what they expected to happen, and what they wanted to happen. Bets were even being placed. Kirk was coming up with merchandise options. Well, you couldn't really call it merchandise because it would be free, but he was trying to decide between two things. T-shirts, or bows. He decided on bows because some people had to wear uniforms to work, and you can put a bow on a uniform, but you couldn't wear a t-shirt over a uniform. He was going to make two colors of bows. Red for Lorelai, and yellow for Katie. If someone wanted Lorelai to end up with Luke, they'd wear a red bow. Red, because Lorelai had a fiery personality and nothing was ever dull or boring around her. If someone wanted Luke to end up with Katie, they'd wear a yellow bow. Yellow, because Katie always seemed happy and outgoing and sweet. Kirk decided to go home and get started.

* * *

"Hey, Sook," Lorelai greeted when her and Rory walked into the kitchen after their shopping trip. "You're going to _love_ your present!" Lorelai said in a sing song voice. "Rory's is okay."

"Hey! Mine is practical, and will be used way more often than yours."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that," Lorelai said to Rory. "Sookie, we haven't seen Jackson yet."

"You haven't?" She asked, stirring soup with a wooden spoon. "Ooh! Idea!" Sookie flung the spoon up in the air and splattered soup on everything behind her. "Oops," she said softly. "Okay, idea. You guys should come over to dinner tonight!"

"Sook, we wouldn't want to intrude…" Lorelai trailed off.

"No, no, no! You wouldn't be intruding! You two are welcome any time!"

Lorelai looked at Rory and she shrugged.

"Okay." Lorelai smiled at Sookie.

Sookie looked over to Rory for an answer.

"Yes, we'll come over."

"Oh yay!" Sookie wrapped her arms around the both of them. When she pulled away, Sookie became more serious. "Have you seen them?" Sookie asked Lorelai.

"Seen what?"

"The bows?"

"No. What bows?"

"Oh, the whole town is wearing bows. Red if they want Luke to end up with you, or yellow if they want him to end up with Katie."

"Oh God," Lorelai responded, putting her head in her hands. "I'll go talk to him."

"Who?" Both Sookie and Rory asked.

"Kirk." Lorelai stormed out of the Inn.

When she got to the town square, she saw Kirk on the steps of the gazebo with two boxes. A box of red bows, and a box of yellow bows. There were a lot more yellows left than there were reds, which means, most of the townspeople were wearing red, including Kirk.

"Kirk!" She yelled.

He jumped and knocked over the boxes, spilling all the bows onto the ground

"Stop this," she said when she was closer to him.

"What?" He asked.

"The bows,"she answered, pointing to all the bows he was picking up from the ground.

"Why?"

"Because it's not right, Kirk! It's mean. It's not okay for me, it's not okay for Katie, and it is definitely not okay for Luke. He has the right to choose whoever he wants, and the opinions of the town shouldn't change that. He has to feel it."

"So you're saying there's a choice?" Kirk asked.

"What?"

"You're saying you're in the running. Meaning you like Luke! Which means you want to be with him! Which means you want him to pick you!"

"No! Kirk! Stop!" LorelaI called out, but it was too late. He was already running around town yelling.

"Lorelai likes Luke!" And "Lorelai's in the running!"

Luke came outside when he heard all the noise. He couldn't make out what Kirk was saying, so when he saw Lorelai, he decided to go over and ask.

"What the hell is he yapping about?"

"Oh, uh," she said quietly. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," he said, looking over at Kirk who was starting to slow down because he was getting tired. "And what are those?" Luke asked, pointing to the bows.

"Wow, news still gets to you last." She looked up at Luke and then back to the bows. "Ask Kirk. I was trying to get him to stop but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Lorelai…" he said, noticing she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Ask Kirk." She started to walk away slowly but was stopped when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Lorelai," he said softly.

Tears started to well up in her eyes. "Ask Kirk," she repeated. She pulled away and went somewhere out of sight where she burst into tears. Why was she being like this? Why was she so emotional? Could she like Luke? No. No. It's been 5 years. She couldn't like Luke. She planned on coming home, and everything would be normal. Her and Luke would just be friends again, like before. They'd talk and laugh and he'd refuse to give her coffee. He'd think she was annoying and her eating habits were disgusting and she'd think he was a grumpy loner. Everything was supposed to be normal. But now, she was realizing, things were never going to be normal again.

Lorelai then realized where she was. She was on the bridge. One of Luke's favorite spots to go to think. She decided to leave, but then she heard someone's voice.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Jess?" She looked up.

"In the flesh." He sat down next to her. "What's up?" He asked.

"I don't know. I have absolutely no idea."

"He's an idiot."

"What?"

"Luke. He's an idiot. He loves you, and he wants to be with you. He's just scared."

"Jess…"

"He called me. He was freaking out. He said you were here, and he was freaking out. He doesn't know what to do, so I came."

Lorelai looked around nervously. "He's in a relationship," she said, looking down.

"It's an extreme version of me and Rory and Shane. Rory left, I got with Shane, Rory came back, I ended up with Rory."

"Luke is serious about Katie. You didn't even care about Shane. Plus you and Rory lasted like what, two minutes?"

Jess looked down quickly, and Lorelai realized what she said. "Oh, sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's true. I made a mistake with Rory. I screwed up, and I lost her… forever. Trust me, Luke won't risk loosing you."

Lorelai smiled. "Just so you know, I don't hate you. I hate a lot of the things you did to my daughter, but I don't hate you. You're a good kid."

They were both silent for a while until Lorelai spoke again.

"She's not with him."

"What?"

"Rory. She's not with Logan anymore."

"Okay…"

"Jess, I know you always thought you weren't good enough for Rory, and I know I had a big part in that, but you are. With everything that happened, you've done really well for yourself. Now's your chance, don't miss it."

Jess looked down. He wasn't sure what to say. "Luke missed his chances with you plenty of times. He's not going to miss it now."

Lorelai smiled at Jess. "Well this is different," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah." He laughed, because he knew what she meant. She meant it was different that they actually had a conversation and exchanged more than a few sentences. It was different, because they actually had a meaningful conversation. "Well, I better go find Luke."

"Yeah."

Jess stood up and walked away, leaving Lorelai on the bridge. She looked out into the sparkling water. It was dark outside, but it was only 8:00. Instead of sitting there, Lorelai decided to go back to the Inn. She didn't want to deal with any of the townspeople and she especially didn't want to risk seeing Luke.

When she got to the Inn, she noticed Katie was standing at the front desk. Lorelai tried to walk past her without her noticing, but when they locked eyes, she knew she had to speak up.

"Oh, hi, Katie. I wasn't expecting you here right now."

"I took an extra shift."

"Oh."

They both stood there in the empty lobby in silence. Lorelai tapped her foot and looked around the room as Katie pretended to flip through the guest book.

The awkward silence finally broke when Lorelai spoke again. "Look, I know you probably know about the bows. I promise, I tried to get Kirk to stop giving them out. I definitely did not tell him to make those and I'm so against it. And, I'm sorry about the whole town. You and Luke are in a relationship, a serious relationship, and I get that. I totally understand, and I'm not going to try to ruin it."

Katie looked up at her and gave her a slight nod.

"Look, Luke and I had our chance. We had a ton of chances, and it never happened. He's with you, and he's an amazing guy. He's not going to break your heart."

"Yeah…" Katie said, unconvincingly. "You seem like a really nice girl, I just. I don't know. From what I've seen, everything the town has been telling me for the last 5 years is true. He's happier when you're here."

"Look, we were friends then, and we're friends now. Nothing between me and him has changed."

Katie looked around the room nervously. "You kissed him?"

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Before you left, apparently you guys kissed."

Lorelai looked down. "Um, yeah."

"And you're saying you're just friends?"

"Yeah?"

"Why should I believe you?"

"What?" Lorelai shook her head.

"From what I've seen, neither of you want to be just friends."

Lorelai was silent for a second. "Katie, it's just weird. I left _right_ after it happened. Luke and I were just friends for 8 years before that. It was just a nice night, we were at a wedding, I had just gotten out of a relationship, Luke had just gotten a divorce, it meant nothing. We were both just lonely and there for each other." Lorelai reassured Katie even though she didn't believe what she was saying. Of course it meant something, it was Luke.

"Okay." Katie let out a little smile, showing she believed Lorelai.

Lorelai smiled back to her.

"Do you want some coffee?" Katie asked her.

"Oh, you don't know me yet, so you still had to ask. For future reference, I will never say no to coffee. Coffee is my life, coffee is my religion."

Katie let out a laugh. "I'm more of a tea kind of girl."

Lorelai's stomach dropped when she heard that. 'A tea kind of girl'. Luke was a tea kind of guy. They were tea kinds of people.

"Um, the coffee is this way," Katie said, pulling Lorelai out of her thoughts.

Lorelai smiled and followed Katie into the kitchen. Sookie wasn't there, she was at home.

* * *

The next morning, Katie walked into the diner. Her and Luke hadn't talked since the mini-fight. When she got home from work that night, he was asleep, and he was gone when she woke up.

She went up to the counter and sat at the center stool. Luke was busy rushing around to tables. When it finally slowed down, he went over to talk to Katie.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi."

"So, I talked to Lorelai…" Luke stopped her before she could finish her sentence.

"What? When? _Why_ did you talk to Lorelai?"

"She came into the Inn last night and we talked," Katie said as she leaned back, intimidated by Luke's tone.

"Oh." Luke looked at her to continue.

"Anyways, sorry. I just got really upset with the apartment thing and the letter and the kissing. Lorelai explained that it meant nothing and you guys have always been just friends and always will be just friends. I'm sorry I overreacted."

Luke's eyes darkened. It meant nothing to her? That kiss meant nothing to Lorelai? It meant everything to him.

"Oh, right…" he said softly.

Katie looked up and smiled at him. "So we're good?"

He struggled to get a smile out. "Yeah, were good."

"Okay I have to head back to work. Lunch break." Katie grabbed her purse and walked out after giving Luke a quick kiss on the cheek.

Luke froze in time. He stood there at the counter, frozen. Everyone moved around him, but he couldn't see or hear them. He zoned out. How could that kiss mean nothing to Lorelai? He waited eight years to kiss her. He waited through Chris and Max and Alex and Jason. But what about the letter? Didn't that mean something? She said it was an amazing kiss. She said she was sorry they wouldn't have a chance to do it again. Didn't that mean something? She told Katie it was a mistake, but her letter told Luke it was great. Luke didn't know what to think now. He was so confused. All he knew, is that he's in a bad situation.

* * *

The night before, after Lorelai had coffee with Katie, it was time to go over to Sookie's. Her and Rory were going to have dinner at Sookie's. Lorelai showed up before Rory, and Jackson was taking care of the kids, so Sookie and Lorelai had time to talk.

"You had coffee with her?" Sookie asked with a nervous look.

"Yeah. It was weird. She's really nice though, I really like her."

"Well that's good, I guess. Right?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I guess so. I probably won't have coffee with her again because, I don't know, it's just weird."

"Well, you were friends with Rachel."

"Yeah, but remember what Luke was like during that? He was always nervous and on edge. He wouldn't come near either of us if we were together."

"Yeah, that was weird."

"I don't know. I guess we'll just see what happens."

"Yeah." They were both silent for a while, hoping Rory would knock on the door. Sookie finally spoke up again. "Do you want to be with Luke?"

"What? No." Lorelai looked around nervously.

"Lorelai, you have to be sure. You need to be all in or all out. I love you and I love Luke and I don't want to see you hurt him again."

"What?"

"After you left. He was miserable. He'd sit on your porch all night. He was grumpy and hostile, for months. Years, even. He still gets like that sometimes."

Lorelai looked guilty and confused.

Sookie decided to speak again. "I'm just saying, he's in a relationship, so if you want him, you have to be all in. If you aren't sure, stay out of it. Even if you think you might want to be with him, stay out until you're sure. Because if you don't stay out of it, he'll go for you, and if you back out, that'll be the worst thing you could ever do to him."

"Yeah, I know." Lorelai sighed.

Just in time, Rory knocked on the door.

The three of them and Jackson are a nice dinner full of laughter and happiness. After, Jackson went upstairs to check on the kids and go to bed. The girls stayed downstairs and talked for a while.

They were about to leave until they realized it was just past midnight. Sookie let them stay downstairs in the living room on the couches.

In the morning, Lorelai woke up with a cramp in her neck. She slept on one of Sookie's chairs in the living room and Rory took the couch. Lorelai fluttered her eyes open and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. As she saw up, her eyes scanned the room. Rory was still asleep, and there was no noise which means the kids, Sookie, and Jackson were also asleep.

Lorelai got up and looked around the kitchen. She looked in the fridge and skimmed through the pantry. _Damn cook_ , Lorelai thought. Since Sookie was a cook, she didn't have any ready-made food available. All she had was fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables, cream, milk, flour, and everything else she needed to make meals. Everything had to be prepared. There were no pop-tarts, no candy. Sookie didn't even have Slim-Jims. Lorelai never liked Slim-Jims, but if she was hungry enough, she'd eat anything.

She waited around for half an hour, but no one woke up, so she decided to go to Luke's. Coffee was a necessity at the moment.

When she got outside, she realized what she looked like. She was still wearing last nights wrinkly clothes and her hair was tangled. She went back to the Inn to freshen up.

Luckily, Lorelai didn't see Katie at the Inn. She went upstairs to her room and took a quick shower, but she didn't wash her hair. When she got out of the shower, she just put a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt on. She brushed out her curly hair, put on a little bit of makeup, slid on a pair of sandals, and walked out the door.

Since they still didn't have their cars, Lorelai had to walk to the Diner. On the walk, she passed Katie. Neither of them spoke, but Katie offered Lorelai a sincere smile and an energetic hand wave. Lorelai waved back and smiled back.

Luke snapped out of his thoughts when the unmistakable sound of the bell on the diner door rang. In walked Lorelai. Luke turned around quickly, poured her a cup of coffee, and then walked away from the counter to go check on other customers.

Lorelai sat down at her usual spot where the cup of coffee was waiting. She watched Luke as he hurried around the diner. He was clearly nervous, she just didn't know why.

When he couldn't find anything else to keep him busy, he grabbed a towel, and started wiping down the counter. He tried his hardest to avoid eye contact with Lorelai, but it didn't work. He could feel her staring at him and he had to look up.

"What?" He asked grumpily.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He turned and started wiping the counter down again.

"You missed a spot," Lorelai said jokingly.

"What?" He took a step back and looked at the counter until he heard Lorelai chuckling and he knew she was messing with him. "Ha. Real funny." He got back to wiping.

"No, really. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Luke."

"Nothing's wrong." He made the mistake of looking up, and he caught her eyes. It's like they stared deep into his soul. He felt exposed and vulnerable.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked sincerely and seriously.

Luke paused for a second, put the rag down, and stood back with his arms crossed. "It didn't mean anything?"

"What?"

"When we kissed," he started quietly so a minimal amount of people could hear him. "It didn't mean anything to you?"

"Luke…" Lorelai looked down into her cup.

"No. Tell me. Because that kiss meant everything to me, Lorelai. And then Katie comes in here and tells me how you were blabbing to her all night about how it meant nothing to you and you don't care about me at all." Now, Luke's voice was raised and he didn't care who heard.

"Luke, you know that's not true."

"Actually I don't. From what I've seen, everything she said is true."

"Luke, no it's not!"

"So?"

"So what?" Lorelai asked.

"You still haven't answered my question."

Lorelai looked down again. "Of course it meant something to me."

Luke kept a poker face, but inside, his heart started beating faster and he was getting goosebumps.

"Everything I wrote in that letter is true." Lorelai said.

Luke still remained silent. Lorelai looked around at the diner people listening in. She didn't see Patty or Babette, but Kirk and Taylor were both there with their eyes fixed on Luke.

Luke realized they were watching, so he grabbed Lorelai's hand and pulled her to the stairs and up to his apartment.

"Tell me the truth," he said.

"Luke, it was all true. It was an amazing kiss and I wanted it to happen. It was just bad timing. And now you have a girlfriend and it's too late. I only told her it didn't mean anything because I didn't want to be the reason you guys broke up."

Luke looked around at the empty room and knew she was right. "I don't need you to get involved in my relationship."

"What?"

"You didn't need to have coffee with her and start talking about me, Lorelai."

"Luke, that's not what happened at all!" Lorelai stepped away from him.

"What happened?"

"I went back to the Inn and she was there. I told her I tried to get Kirk to stop handing out bows and that what the town thinks doesn't matter to you."

Luke remained in silence, so Lorelai continued.

"Then she started talking about the kiss and she was mad so I said it didn't matter, and she calmed down. Then, she asked if I wanted coffee, and you know I'll never say no to that. That's it, that's all that happened. I like her, Luke. She's really nice, and I'm glad you found her." Lorelai's voice started to get softer. It hurt her to say this stuff, but it was true.

Luke was torn. One part of him realized she was right, Katie is an amazing girl and she's so great for him, but another part of him knew Katie was wrong for him, because Lorelai was right. He couldn't decide. Katie is an amazing girl who has never hurt him and never will. Lorelai is an amazing girl that he has pined over for more than 10 years, but she has hurt him countless times, and there's no way to tell if she'd hurt him again. Either settle and be happy with Katie, or risk getting hurt to be even happier with Lorelai.

As they both stood silent in his empty apartment, Luke looked Lorelai up and down. She was standing in a timid position with her arms crossed. She almost seemed scared of him, and that broke his heart. She was always so confident and dominant around him, and the past couple days she's been here, she's seemed distant and apprehensive.

Lorelai watched Luke. She could see the little wheels spinning in his head, but she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. She watched his bright blue eyes travel up and down. Suddenly, without warning, he stepped forward and grabbed her waist.

"What are you doing?" She asked, pulling away.

"Will you just stand still?" He pulled her closer, and then placed a hand on the back of her neck.

He passionately pressed his lips to hers and kissed her. When they were both out of breath, he pulled away.

He decided. It was scary, but it was Lorelai. It had to be Lorelai. It has always been Lorelai. Sure, there were probably better ways to do this; less distressing ways, but in this moment, he wanted to kiss her. He _needed_ to kiss her.

To his surprise, after he pulled away, she took a step towards him.

"What are you doing?"

"Will you just stand still," she repeated. She had a little smile on her face when she repeated his words. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands fell to her waist and pulled her impossibly close. When their lips pressed together again, everything around them faded away. It was just them, and no one else. They were the only two things that mattered, and they got lost in the feeling.

* * *

 _ **Okay, there's the end! Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like please! There will be atleast one more chapter.**_

 _ **Please read my other story too!**_ _ **Falling for Forever**_ _ **. It's about Luke and Lorelai, and it's set around season one. It's an AU so I got rid of some of the things that happened in season one but I kept others. Anyways I hope you like both of these stories!**_

 _ **Also, let me know in your reviews if you'd like me to read any of your stories.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Oh, also, since I had them kiss at her house after the wedding, technically the first kiss at the Inn opening never happened, so that's why I used that scene for the end of this story.**_

 _ **(Btw, over 11,000 words. Go me!)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Hey guys! Sorry about the wait for this chapter. (Explained below in the second A/N)**

 **I really hope you like this chapter! I really like it. Well, the end could be a but better, but, it isn't actually the end.**

 **I've decided on adding a 3** **rd** **chapter. Hopefully I can get it out quicker than it took me to post this one.**

 **Please review! Criticism, good or bad. Questions, comments, suggestions. Anything is appreciated!**

 _ **Disclaimer – I obviously don't own Gilmore girls. I don't understand why people put disclaimers on fanfiction, it's kind of obvious. Disclaimers annoy me.**_

 _ **Well, anyways, let's get into the story.**_

* * *

It was around lunch time and Jess decided he would look for Rory. He figured he'd check Lane's house first. When he got up to the door, he could hear the ruckus inside. He wasn't sure if they'd even be able to hear him knocking over the sound of screaming kids.

After a few minutes, a little boy opened the door.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"A friend." Jess replied vaguely. "Is Rory here?"

"She's with my mom."

"Can I speak to her?" Jess asked. He rolled his eyes at himself having to ask a kid for permission to talk to Rory.

"MOM!" the boy yelled.

"Jesus!" Jess covered his ears. "Shut up!"

Lane came running out of the other room.

"Oh, Jess. When did you get here?" Lane asked.

"The other day," he replied, annoyed. "Can I talk to Rory?"

"Yeah, let me go get her. Come in." Lane gestured into the house.

"I'm good." Jess waved her off and took another step even further away from the house.

Lane walked away to get Rory, and the little boy decided to keep talking to Jess.

"Why is your hair so poofy?"

"I don't know," Jess replied.

"Why don't you know?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"Why are you so annoying?" Jess asked.

Of course, with terrible timing, Rory showed up at the door just in time to hear that.

"Jess? Why are you here?" Rory asked excitedly. She came outside and hugged him, but she quickly pulled away.

"Luke called me." Right then, Jess started to panic. He had no idea what to say to Rory.

"So, how are you?" Rory asked.

"I'm good. I'm really good. Everything has been working out so far and I'm good, I'm great."

"That's great, Jess. I'm so proud of you."

Jess gave her a slight smile. "So, what have you been up to?"

"I've been doing some journalism in New York. I'm actually working on a piece right now."

"Ooh, can I read it?" He asked.

"When it's done."

They stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Rory."

"Jess."

They both spoke at the same time.

Jess nodded at Rory to continue.

"I'm sorry. The last time I saw you, I kissed you and then said I was in love with someone else. That was a huge mistake."

"Which part?" He asked

"What?"

"Which part was the mistake?"

Rory took a second to think. "Telling you I was in love with someone else. Thinking I was in love with someone else."

Jess smiled at her response.

"What were you going to say?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"What? You can't just start a thought and then say never mind!"

"Well, I did!"

"Jess, tell me!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Fine," he said, and before she knew it, his lips were pressed to hers and his hands were on her cheeks.

She was so surprised by the gesture, she didn't know what to do. She ended up wrapping her arms around his body because it felt good.

After Logan, Rory didn't really have any serious boyfriends. She had a couple little flings in New York, and a little bit better sex life than her mom had, but nothing serious. Nothing _good._ She still considered Dean, Jess, and Logan the three great loves in her life. Obviously, it didn't work out with Logan. She wasn't even in contact with him anymore. The last she heard, he was engaged in France. Dean was out of the picture because he was married now. Rory realized she cheated on Dean with Jess. She realized she cheated on Logan with Jess. And she realized that she never cheated on Jess. Why did it end? She could barely remember anymore. Jess was not a bad person. He was amazing and he reflects her personality so well. The only reason they couldn't be together, was timing. First with Dean, then because of Walmart and school, then because of his dad, and then, of course, Dean again, then Logan. It was never the right time. Rory realized that Jess never hurt her, at least, not on purpose. She was the one that had hurt him. He left because he had to, but when he came back, when he was ready, she turned him down. He came back more than once and she kept turning him down, and now she couldn't even remember why.

Rory's thoughts faded away as the kiss grew. Jess' hands moved down from her face to the small of her back, and she wrapped hers up around his shoulders. She didn't even realize they were moving until she was pushed up against a wall.

Jess remembered Rory didn't like moving too fast, and after all this time, he was sure she had moved fast with somebody, but he didn't want to risk it, just incase. He kept his hands at a respectable level. Not too high, and not too low. It was Rory that pushed one of his arms a little lower below the equator.

"Mom, come here," the little boy said, finding Lane in the kitchen.

"What honey?" Lane asked, following the boy to the front door.

"They're breaking your rule," he said.

"What rule?"

"The space bubble." The boy finished his thought right as Lane got to the door. She looked outside and saw Jess and Rory up against a wall, getting a little too handsy.

Neither Rory or Jess noticed they had gained a crowd. A couple people from out on the street had stopped to see the show.

"Go inside, honey," Lane said to her son.

When he was back inside, Lane went over to the couple.

"You've got an audience…" she said.

Jess pulled back and Rory wiped off her lips.

"What?" Rory asked.

Lane gestured to the street.

"Oh." Rory fixed her shirt. She looked up at Jess who was just staring at her with a little trace of a smile.

Rory smiled back, and Lane realized they were sharing a moment.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys." Lane walked back into the house and shut the door, leaving Jess and Rory outside with their audience. When both Jess and Rory looked out at the gathering of people, they all hurried off as if they weren't watching. Jess looked back to Rory and they smiled at each other.

"Well, I uh, better get back." Jess said, referring to the diner.

"Yeah, me too." Rory gestured to Lane's house.

Jess leaned in for another quick kiss, and it lasted a little longer than expected, but eventually they pulled away and went their separate ways.

* * *

When Jess got back to the diner, people were waiting at the register, and Luke was no where to be seen. Caesar was trying to man the register and cook but it wasn't working too well.

Jess stepped in. "Sorry guys." He started to deal with the crowd and when it finally slowed down, he asked the whole diner where Luke was. They all pointed upstairs.

Jess ran up the stairs and opened the door to Luke's apartment.

Lorelai and Luke had been so caught up in the moment, they didn't even hear Jess.

"Well you're lucky I'm not Katie." Jess announced.

Luke and Lorelai jumped apart. Lorelai fixed her hair and Luke glared at Jess.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked him.

"You had a huge crowd down there and Caesar couldn't handle it." Jess saw that Luke looked concerned. "I fixed it. You're welcome."

The room was silent, and all anyone could hear was the shuffling of Lorelai's clothes as she fidgeted with her hair.

"Um, I'm going to go," Lorelai said after a while.

"Wait, Lorelai," Luke called out.

Lorelai had already left the apartment.

"Let her go," Jess said.

After a few seconds passed, Luke realized what a dilemma he was in. What was he going to tell Katie? What if Lorelai was moving back to New York? She left her car there, she has to go back no matter what. What's to keep her from staying there in New York?

"Jeez, stop thinking, smoke is coming out of your ears," Jess announced.

"What?..." Luke didn't know what to say. He didn't know anything right now.

"Luke, just tell Katie, and be with Lorelai."

"What if Lorelai wants to go back to New York?"

"She doesn't."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do," Jess corrected.

"Wait… did you talk to her?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, found her crying on the bridge."

"Why?" Luke asked him. They were both standing in the middle of the empty apartment, a few feet away from each other.

"Oh Luke, you know why. You."

"What?"

"Oh don't act clueless. You're in love with Lorelai and she's in love with you. Stop thinking so much, and just go be with her. Yeah, she's a nutcase, but you two are good with each other, and I know for a fact that if you give her a reason to stay, she'll stay."

"Really?" Luke asked, letting his guard down.

Jess rolled his eyes in response.

"I'll, uh, I'll tell Katie tonight."

"Good. Now get back down there, Caesar is freaking out."

* * *

When Lorelai walked down the stairs, she didn't know what to think. She wanted to be with Luke, and she knew he wanted to be with her, but she wasn't sure if he'd break up with Katie. He wasn't that type of guy. He would never cheat on someone… but he did. He wouldn't break up with someone for someone else. He'd stay in the relationship and see what happens. Lorelai stopped at the bottom of the stairs before she went back out into the diner. She took a second to collect herself and make sure she didn't look like she had just been kissed.

She went back out to her place at the counter where her cup of coffee had been sitting. It was still warm. Lorelai liked sitting at the counter, because even though she knew people were staring, she couldn't actually see them since she was facing the other way.

She also wasn't sure how long she should stay. Did Luke want her to stay? Or did he want her to be gone by the time he got back?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Rory came up and sat next to her.

"What's up?" Rory asked.

"I have no idea," Lorelai said.

"What?"

Lorelai took a look around the diner. "Come here," she said, pulling Rory out of the diner.

"What?"

"We kissed."

"Oh my god, Luke?" Rory asked.

"No, me and Andrew. Yes, Luke!"

"Really?"

"Oh, now you're doubting me?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, you have been known to dream these things."

"Rory, it wasn't a dream."

"I mean, are you even sure you kissed him 5 years ago? Or was that a dream too?" Rory continued without listening to her mother.

"Rory!" Lorelai gave her a little punch on the shoulder.

"What about Katie?" Rory asked.

"I don't know."

"Oh. Well, what did he say?"

"Um… nothing?" Lorelai answered as if it were a question.

"Mom!"

"I don't know! Jess came up and I left."

Lorelai saw a smile flicker on Rory's face when she mentioned Jess.

"Uh oh. What happened with you and Jess?" Lorelai asked.

Rory couldn't hold her smile in anymore. "We kissed."

"What?" Lorelai asked excitedly.

Rory's only answer was a smile.

"I didn't think he had it in him," Lorelai said.

"He did." Rory replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, I don't want too many details. Lets go see Sookie."

They went back inside and just as Rory and Lorelai were grabbing their stuff to leave, Jess and Luke came down the stairs.

Jess stopped at the bottom for a second when he saw them, but then he saw the look in Rory's eyes. She was happy this time. She wanted to be with him.

Rory was always a lot easier to read than Lorelai, and she never lies. Well, she may withhold information, or try to lie, but it never worked.

Jess looked up at Lorelai and nodded, as if to say thank you, and then he quickly walked up to Rory and gave her a passionate kiss in front of the whole diner. A collective gasp emerged from the diner-goers.

Lorelai slipped a soft smile of approval towards them and looked over to Luke, who looked like he had just seen Taylor naked. Obviously, he had no idea Jess still liked Rory, even after all these years.

When Luke noticed Lorelai was watching him, he turned to her. She flashed him an awkward smile. He knew she'd be nervous for days by not knowing his decision, so he gave her a sincere smile in return.

Lorelai raised her eyebrow at him, not 100% sure what he meant. She twiddled her thumb, gesturing towards herself-as if to say 'me?'- discreetly. Luke noticed her gesture, and nodded. Lorelai smiled back at him, for real this time. She wanted to go hug him but she knew he still had to deal with Katie, and the whole town finding out Luke and Lorelai kissed probably isn't the best way to do things.

Lorelai and Rory left, leaving Jess and Luke in the diner.

Lorelai came up with a plan. Sookie's baby shower was the next day, so they decided they would go to that, and then Lorelai was going to fly back to New York, officially get rid of her place-which would take a couple days-, and drive the Jeep back to Stars Hollow. Neither her or Rory had a place to live yet, but they'd figure it out.

Their old house had been bought by a nice couple with a little baby, and Babette made them keep everything exactly the same. They weren't allowed to repaint the house, or remodel the inside.

Lorelai figured that being gone for a few days would either give Luke time to talk to Katie, or give him time to change his mind. She obviously didn't want him to change his mind, but overall, she just wanted him to be happy.

* * *

That night, Luke went to talk to Katie. He didn't know Lorelai had planned on leaving for a few days to give him time, and he just wanted to get it over with. When he got home, Katie was cooking in the kitchen. Since he hadn't actually moved in until a couple days ago, most of his stuff was still in boxes.

Luke walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Hey," she greeted. She was standing at the stove stirring sauce for spaghetti.

When Luke didn't reply, she moved the dish off of the burner and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She ran her finger along his jawline, but he refused to look at her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"What?"

"I…" Luke wasn't sure what to say.

"Oh…" Katie understood what he was trying to say. "I see."

Luke finally looked her in the eye, and she could see that he was gone. Ever since Lorelai showed up, Luke's expression towards Katie changed. He no longer looked at her the way he used to. At first, she thought it was just because it was awkward having Lorelai there, but now she noticed that his expression had changed because _he_ realized he didn't love her. He loved Lorelai.

"Katie-"

She stopped him before he could finish his thoughts. "No. Just get your stuff, and get out."

"Wait-" Luke knew this would hurt her, but he didn't expect her to shut him out.

"No. Luke, I understand. I know I like to talk about things, but right now, I really don't want to."

"Okay," he said after a while.

"Okay."

He got up from the table, placed a soft 'goodbye' kiss on her forehead, and left the kitchen. He started loading his truck, a few boxes at a time until her house was completely rid of his stuff. Every time he came back in to grab a few more boxes, he looked into the kitchen and Katie was still sitting in the exact same spot.

When he finished packing the truck, he looked back up at her house and she was now standing in the window. He waved at her as he got into the truck, and she waved back.

As soon as the green truck was out of sight, Katie broke down. She grabbed a sugar-free popsicle from the freezer and sucked on it as she leaned back into a recliner. It was the recliner Luke always liked to sit in when he watched a baseball game or something on tv.

Katie knew this was coming. Ever since Lorelai came back, in the back of her mind, Katie knew what was going to happen; she just tried to ignore it. Even though she knew this was going to happen, it still hurt. Breaking off a relationship of over two years is going to hurt no matter what, and it was even worse since this was for another girl, a girl from his past.

She sat there, and cried for hours. When she had collected herself, she called in to work and asked for the next day off. Well, she didn't ask, since she runs the place, but she let the rest of the staff know she wasn't going to be there. There was nothing big going on, so she knew that her presence wasn't needed.

Of course, Katie was sad, and mad, and upset about what happened, but in a way, it was sort of refreshing. She realized how much stress she had been put under ever since she moved here. No one in the town _really_ liked her. Her job was stressful, and definitely wasn't her dream job. The only reason she was _really_ staying here, was Luke. Now that that is over, she can go wherever she wants. She can move wherever she wants. She came here out of obligation. She needed a good job, and she needed a new place to live. Now that she had saved up money from working at the Dragonfly for a little less than five years, she could start over wherever she wanted.

Katie decided to call everyone back. She called the heads of services. Head chef, head manager, head maid.

"Hey, Sookie," she said to the answering machine. "I know you're busy with your pregnancy and your party and everything, and I know I just told you I'm not coming in tomorrow, but I changed my mind. I will come in tomorrow, and every day for the next two weeks, because I'm giving you my two weeks notice. I think I'm going to leave Stars Hollow. I promise I won't leave before I find someone to replace me. Call me for more details. Katie."

She smiled when she ended her call. This felt good.

"Michel, you're head manager." Katie said on the phone

" _Yes, I know."_

"You've been here since before it was open."

" _Yes, I know,"_ he responded again, annoyed.

"I'm quitting. Two weeks. You know this place better than I do, and I want you to help me find my replacement."

" _Thank God,"_ he said, not realizing that the thought had left his mouth.

"What?" She asked.

" _Nothing."_

"Well, we can talk about it tomorrow."

" _Gladly."_

Katie hung up the phone in confusion. She made a few more phone calls, and then decided to get some rest.

* * *

The next day was Sookie's baby shower. She decided to have it at the Inn, since she had already had a baby shower before for her twins. Lorelai never got a chance to go to that one, so she definitely wasn't going to miss out on this one. Sookie wanted this one to be more of a baby 'sprinkle' as some people would say, but Lorelai wanted to go all out.

Since Lorelai left, Sookie became the sole owner of the Inn, and didn't need permission from Katie to decorate it for a party, especially if nothing else was going on. Sookie let Lorelai do whatever she wanted to decorate.

Lorelai decided to fill the ceiling with balloons of all different shades of pink. She bought white tablecloths though, because Sookie insisted on making the food, and Lorelai knew the food would be pink. Pink food looks better on a white tablecloth.

Lorelai and Rory set up for the party in the dining room of the Inn, and Sookie cooked in the kitchen. Of course, she had extra staff, and Jackson looking after her just incase. When it was close to time for people to start showing up, Lorelai and Rory went upstairs to change and grab their presents. Lorelai put on a usual pair of tight jeans, and a light purple, silky shirt. Rory put on a beige dress with a flower design on it.

"Hey Mom?" Rory asked.

"What?" Lorelai asked while putting on her makeup.

"So, um. Jess is stopping by today."

"Ooh! Really?" Lorelai asked excitedly.

"You're happy?" Rory asked.

"Yeah…"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Lorelai asked.

"You don't like Jess!"

"Ahh," Lorelai started. "I used to not like Jess. I like him now."

"Since when?"

"For a while." Lorelai responded nonchalantly with a shrug.

"What?"

"I'm happy for you and Jess. He talked to me the other day, and I told him to go for it."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you." Rory gave her mom a soft hug. "So, you and Luke?" Rory asked.

"Yeah." Lorelai couldn't help but smile.

"Aww yay."

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I think so. He still has to talk to Katie and I don't know how that's going to go."

"Well, I hope it works out."

 _Wow,_ Lorelai thought. _This is weird. It's been so many years and we're back to where we started._

Lorelai grabbed her wrapped, shiny pink box, and Rory grabbed her pastel pink bag. They went downstairs and made sure theirs were the first presents on the gift table.

Lorelai had managed not to see Katie all day. Well, Lorelai didn't know it, but Katie was avoiding her. Lorelai thought Luke would wait a while to tell Katie. She figured he'd come up with a plan before he did anything. After all, he has been known to delay important things. Lorelai had no reason to believe that Katie already knew.

They still had about ten minutes before people would start showing up, so they decided to check on Sookie.

"Hey Sook! How are you?" Lorelai asked.

"She's working too hard." Jackson responded for her.

"Sookie! You're pregnant! Calm down." Lorelai suggested.

"I was just as active when I was pregnant with Davey… and Martha."

"Speaking of," Rory started. "Where are they?" Rory asked, referring to Sookie's kids.

"Oh! They're spending the week with Jackson's parents." Sookie gave off a fake smile.

"Is that safe?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes it's safe!" Jackson snapped.

Lorelai decided to change the subject since nothing good could come of that one.

"Well, Sookie, you better come out here. People are going to start showing up."

"Okay," Sookie said sadly, placing her spoon down onto the counter.

She followed Lorelai and Rory out into the dining room.

"Woah! This is so great!" Sookie exclaimed. "Lorelai, this is why you're the godmother of all my children."

"Aww, thanks Sook."

Just then, someone walked in.

Jess.

Rory ran up and hugged him.

"Woah, when did that happen?" Sookie asked quietly.

"Yesterday." Lorelai responded, her voice at the same level.

Soon enough, people started filling in. The gift table started to overflow. Sookie didn't even remember inviting al of these people.

"This is bigger than I expected," Sookie said nervously.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Lorelai responded.

"No!"

"What?"

"I didn't make enough food for this many people!"

"I won't eat," Lorelai suggested.

Sookie raised her eyebrow as Lorelai.

"Really. I won't eat. After this, I was going to grab a bite to eat at Luke's anyways. Got to get some food in me before the bus ride back to New York."

"Oh no, you're leaving?" Sookie asked.

"No. I'm coming back. I just have to deal with my apartment and get my car and stuff. It will only take a couple days. I promise I'll be back before you know it."

"Good." Sookie said, hugging her best friend.

* * *

After he told Katie how he felt, Luke went back to the diner. He unpacked a few boxes – just enough to be able to sleep comfortably – and went to sleep. He was tired. He knew the diner wouldn't be too crowded because of Sookie's party, so he let everyone else off. He was the only one working at the diner. He hadn't planned on going to the party, but he did hope Lorelai would show up after. He needed to tell her that he talked to Katie, but he didn't want to say something like that over the phone. Once Jess went off to the party to meet Rory, Luke was completely alone in the diner.

A few hours later, after the party ended, the crowd at the diner got a little bigger. It definitely wasn't busy though. Everyone loves Sookie's food, and she makes _a lot_ of it. No one really needed to come to Luke's after it.

No one, except, Lorelai.

When the bell rang and he saw long legs, his eyes shot up. Lorelai.

She came up to the counter and sat in her normal spot. "Today is a great day." She greeted.

"Yes. It is." Luke agreed.

Lorelai gasped jokingly. "You mean you're not grumpy for once?"

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Coffee please." She demanded.

"No."

"Luke…"

"You'll die."

"Well, sorry to break it to you buddy, but you'll die someday too."

When Lorelai pulled out the puppy dog eyes, Luke caved. She knew he couldn't say no any time she made that face.

After he poured her a cup, he decided to tell her.

"So, I talked to Katie."

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip.

"I told her." Luke gestured between the two of them.

"What?" Lorelai asked, almost choking on her coffee. "Already?"

"Um, yeah?"

"I was going to leave! Give you time to tell her!"

"What?" Luke asked. His eyes widened and he looked hurt.

"No! I don't mean _leave_ leave," Lorelai corrected. "I was going to go back to New York, deal with my apartment, get my car. I was going to give you a few days to process it."

"I don't need to process it. I want to be with you, not Katie."

"Well I was going to give you a few days to figure out what you were going to say to her."

"I didn't need to figure it out. I went over there, sat down, didn't talk, and she understood."

"What? Luke!"

"What?"

"That's not how you break up with someone!" Lorelai said that a little louder than she meant to, and of course Kirk heard.

"Lorelai. Katie and I talked. It's fine. Everything is fine. She's hurt, but she understands."

Lorelai took another sip of her coffee. "Okay."

He smiled at her.

"What?" She asked as he stared at her.

"You're beautiful."

Lorelai's cheeks turned red and she smiled up at him. "You're nice," she said in a playful voice.

He smiled at her again and took a quick glance around the diner. The only gossiper in the diner was Kirk, and that meant people would find out soon enough, but Luke and Lorelai wouldn't be instantly bombarded with people asking about their relationship. It would be impossible to hide their relationship for over a day because of how attentive everyone had been since Lorelai got back, so Luke decided to get it out in the open so everyone would know for sure. He leaned in over the counter and gave Lorelai a kiss. In most situations, Luke hated the taste of coffee, but when the taste was coming from Lorelai's lips, it was irresistible. He kissed her again before pulling away.

"What has gotten in to you?" Lorelai asked.

"You."

Lorelai smiled. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Why didn't you contact me?"

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I mean, Rory still came around. You know my parents. It would have been easy to contact me. Why didn't you?"

"I didn't think you wanted me to…" Luke was lying. He tried to contact her. He thought calling her wouldn't be as good as seeing her in person.

"Of course I wanted you to."

Luke took a second to reply. "I did try."

"What?"

"I didn't want to call you, so I drove to New York. Since you told Sookie where you were moving, I knew which apartment building you were in. I went there, and they wouldn't let me in. I said I was a friend of yours, but they wouldn't budge."

"What?" was all Lorelai could say.

"I wrote you a letter. I told the guy at the front desk that it had to get to you. When you never called me, I figured it meant you didn't want what I wanted."

"Luke, what did the letter say?"

Luke rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Oh, nothing. It was stupid."

"No, Luke. Tell me!"

He rolled his eyes, again, before speaking.

" _Lorelai,_

 _You wrote me a letter, so I'm writing you one in return. I'm not good at things like this, and you know that I wouldn't do this for just anyone._

 _Lorelai, I'm crazy for you. I've waited eight years for you. I waited through Max, and Christopher, and I even had to prepare you for your date with that fisherman. I can't remember his name right now._

 _I tried to ignore it for years. I tried to ignore it when I was with Rachel, and I tried to ignore it when I was with Nicole, but even they realized I wasn't in it with them. Remember when I said you were a sore subject for me and Nicole. I thought it was stupid at first, but it's not. And when Rachel left, she said it was because of you. They were both right. I wanted to be with you, Lorelai, even when I didn't realize it."_

Tears started to form in Lorelai's eyes when Luke recited the letter.

" _I don't like talking about my feelings, so I tried to show you. Little things, through out the years to show you that I was interested, but I thought you either didn't understand, or you ignored it._

 _I never imagined, in my wildest dreams that we could be together. You were a fantasy, a dream that would never come true… but it did. At Liz's wedding. That night was a turning point for me, and then you left._

 _Well, this is getting long, so I'll get to the point._

 _Lorelai, when you get this, call me. If you call me, I'll know you feel the same way. If you don't, that's okay too. I've been without you for eight years, maybe it will be easier to not have you if I never see you again. I know I hate New York, but I'd go anywhere for you._

 _God, I feel like an idiot right now. I'm standing in the lobby of your apartment building, writing this letter on a piece of stationary at the front desk. You're probably only a few floors above me and I'm writing you a stupid letter._

 _If you don't call, I won't bother you again._

 _Luke."_

Tears had started to fall down Lorelai's face as Luke finished reciting the letter.

"You wrote that?" She asked.

"I thought you got it…"

"You remembered exactly what you wrote?"

"Every word."

Lorelai leaned over the table and hugged him.

Since the diner was fairly empty, and the gossipers were no where to be seen, no one really saw or cared about what just happened.

"Thank you." Lorelai said into Luke's ear as they hugged.

She could feel him smile. When they finally pulled apart, Lorelai wiped her eyes, and Luke went to check on his customers.

When he came back, Lorelai had a weird look on her face. Luke didn't know what it meant.

"What's wrong?"

"You mean Sookie knew you tried to find me?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Why didn't she tell me? She's supposed to tell me everything."

"I told her not to."

Lorelai gasped and sat up straight. "You mean you told my best friend to lie to me? And she listened!"

"Guess so."

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

Lorelai sat there for a few more minutes. Kirk had left, and Luke was wandering around, cooking and taking orders. When she finished her coffee, she spoke again.

"Hey Luke!" She called out.

He came out from the kitchen and stood across from her. "What?"

"I'm going to get going."

"Right now?" He asked, looking at the time.

"Uh, yeah."

"You're going to take a bus this late? You don't get there till midnight."

"That's fine." Lorelai shrugged it off. It didn't bother her.

"Hang around a bit. I'll close up and then I'll drive you."

"No, Luke. You have to sleep and work."

"Tomorrow's Sunday. Caesar opens on Sunday."

"Luke…"

"Let me take you."

"I don't want you driving back all alone in the middle of the night."

"Lorelai, it's fine."

"Well…" Lorelai got an idea.

"What?"

"I mean, I still have my apartment. You could stay until morning."

Luke smiled. "That sounds good."

"Really?" She asked. "Caesar is fine if you're not back until tomorrow night?"

"Yeah he's fine. If I need to, I could get Jess to head over there for a few hours."

"Oh, how about that?" Lorelai asked.

"What?"

"Jess and Rory?"

"Oh. What happened there?"

"Jess and I talked. Traded advice."

"Yeah, he told me you talked. But, I didn't know he still liked Rory."

"Luke, honey, he never stopped liking Rory."

"What?" Luke obviously had no idea what had been going on.

"Oh, man. Luke, us Gilmore's just have that affect on men. They can never get over us." Lorelai said this as if she were teaching a class.

He rolled his eyes but he knew she was right.

"So, I'm driving you?" Luke asked, changing the subject.

"Only if you want to."

"Try to stop me." Luke replied. "We can head out after these people finish up." He gestured over to the last family sitting in the corner.

Luke called Caesar and told him his plans. He called Jess and told him to stop by the diner tomorrow and help Caesar if he needed it.

Lorelai called Rory and let her know that she was off, and she told her that Luke was driving.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kirk had already started a new project. Tee-shirts. He used to make Tee-shirts. They were black and they had a quick sentence on them of what someone was doing, like 'Babette eats oatmeal'. He figured now was the perfect time to start these shirts up again. Him and Lulu made a bunch. 'Luke chose Lorelai'

* * *

Once the last family in the diner finally left, Luke and Lorelai decided to hit the road. They had to stop back at the Inn, so Lorelai could grab some clothes.

Luke dropped her off to grab her things, and he waited outside in the still-running truck. He didn't turn off the engine because he _thought_ Lorelai would be quick… apparently he was wrong.

After a few moments, he noticed a figure in the window. Katie. She saw him outside in the truck, and decided to come out. She didn't see Lorelai when he dropped her off.

"What are you doing here?" Katie asked as Luke rolled down the window.

"Uh…" Luke didn't want to say Lorelai, even though that was the truth, but he also didn't want to lie.

Luckily, he didn't have to answer when another voice chirped in.

"Oh, hi Katie." Lorelai said in a polite voice.

Katie turned around and saw Lorelai come out of the Inn with a few bags stuffed full of clothes. Luke's eyes widened when he saw the amount of stuff she was bringing for just a couple of days. Then she'd have to bring all that, plus even more that she left in her apartment back to Stars Hollow.

"Hi…" Katie answered. She looked back at Luke with knowing eyes. "I'll just let you guys get back… to… whatever." Katie started to walk away, but Luke called out to her.

"I'm just taking her back to New York."

Katie's eyes popped open. What does that mean?

Lorelai was now putting her stuff in the back of the truck, so Katie came up to Luke and leaned in. Both their heads were inside the truck, and they were whispering, so Lorelai couldn't hear.

"She's leaving?" Katie asked quietly.

"Sort of. She's coming back eventually." Luke wasn't sure how long it would take Lorelai to get things situated.

"Oh."

Lorelai caught herself looking up at Katie every few seconds. She knew nothing was going to happen, but it was still kind of weird. Girlfriend of a few years vs girl missing for five years. To Lorelai, it seemed like Luke should have picked Katie, but to Luke, no one could ever beat Lorelai.

"I quit," Katie said to Luke.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"You were the only thing keeping me here. This job is great, but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to go somewhere, _be_ something. It's time for me to go."

"When?"

"I gave my two weeks notice last night. Depending on how fast they find my replacement, I might not have to stay that long."

"Oh, well, uh. Good for you." Luke was at a loss for words.

"I'll see you later, Luke," Katie said with enthusiasm. She didn't seem sad at all. "Friends?"

Luke was surprised by what he was hearing. _Really?_ He thought. "Uh, yeah, friends."

Lorelai finished packing and started to walk back up to them when she saw Katie and Luke kiss. Her eyes widened and her heart sunk.

"Goodbye Luke," Katie said as she pulled away from the truck. "Bye Lorelai!"

Lorelai forced a smile in return, and Luke didn't say anything.

Lorelai went around to the other side of the truck and hopped in.

"I'm ready," she said, without making eye contact.

Luke noticed something was up. "What's wrong?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Lorelai surprised him and quickly sat up straight. "I didn't want to make it seem like you had to choose me or something. Go back to Katie if you want to. I'm fine, I understand. You've been with her for years and you haven't seen me in five. It makes sense."

"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted her mile-a-minute talking.

She still didn't make eye contact, but she stopped talking. "What?"

He realized she must have seen the kiss. "She was saying goodbye."

"What?" Lorelai asked again, still not looking at him.

"She's quitting her job, and leaving. She was saying goodbye."

Lorelai felt pretty stupid, but also relieved. She didn't say anything, though.

Luke decided to speak again. "Lorelai, I choose you. I _love_ you…"

It scared Luke when Lorelai didn't respond, but then he saw her eyes close and noticed a smile forming. He leaned over. Right as she opened her eyes, his lips were on hers. She leaned into him and the kiss and closed her eyes again. She was intimidated by the way the kiss made her feel. It sent shivers through her whole body, reliving the whole first kiss feeling. The feeling that everyone was only supposed to feel once. But Lorelai had it again. This feeling was better than the first kiss feeling. It was better than any kiss she's ever had. It was better because it was tender, sweet, forgiving, and incredibly passionate.

A few seconds later, she pulled away to catch her breath. Luke didn't seem to be as out of breath as she did, and that made her smile. That meant he had more in him. She was excited to experience a full on, everything he's got, kiss with Luke. When she finally caught her breath, she leaned him and gave him a quick kiss.

"I love you too."

Luke smiled at Lorelai and put a hand on her thigh. She covered his hand with hers.

"Lets go," she said.

And with that, he started to drive.

* * *

After the baby shower, Jess drove Rory to Yale.

"Why are we here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Hold on." He kept driving around until they made it to one of the many parks on campus.

Jess got out of the car, and took Rory with him. He pulled her to an open area, and they sat down.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" She asked with a smile.

"Everything. Your support. Everything. I know I already told you this a few years ago, but I couldn't have done it without you."

Rory smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"For getting me back here. You're the reason I got back into Yale, not Logan."

"22.8 miles," he said.

"You looked it up." She smiled, reliving a past conversation.

They both lied down in the grass.

Jess turned to face Rory. She smiled at him and he rolled even further. His knee was in between her legs and the other was off to the side. He leaned above her and bent down to kiss her on the lips.

After a few seconds, he pulled away. Sure, it was sort of late, but they were still in a public place. She smiled at him as he lay next to her. They stayed there in the same position for what felt like hours before they finally decided to go back home.

When they got to the Inn, Jess planned on dropping her off.

"Bye," she said, leaning into the car to kiss him.

After a few seconds, he pulled away just enough so he could speak. "Bye," he said, but she didn't leave. Instead, she deepened the kiss with her tongue. After a few seconds, Jess pulled away again. "Rory!" He said, surprised she was moving so fast.

"I'm not seventeen anymore," she said. When Jess was silent, she went back into the kiss. After minutes on end, she finally pulled away to catch her breath. "Come in," she said.

"Rory…" Jess didn't want to move too fast. He made that mistake with her before.

"Jess." Rory raised an eyebrow and opened his car door.

He smirked, got out of the car, and followed her to her room.

"You're lucky my mom's with Luke, not here."

"Very lucky," he replied, wrapping an arm around her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke and Lorelai were on their way to New York. Lorelai was switching through the radio stations and scolding Luke for not having any good cd's.

"There is nothing on the radio!"

"Well, it's midnight, Lorelai."

"So?" Lorelai clicked the radio off.

"So, the good radio dj's only work when the sun is out."

"Well, it wouldn't be a problem if you had good cd's, would it?"

Luke rolled his eyes at her. This was atleast the fifth time she's mentioned them.

"There's a pen and some paper in the glove compartment, make a list." Luke sighed, knowing he wouldn't win.

"Yes! Well, you have to get Bono, and…"

Lorelai continued on about groups and bands but Luke tuned her out. They had just gotten into New York, and Luke was focused on finding her apartment building. The place where he came to fix things with her. The place that lost his letter.

Luke had already parked in the adjoining parking garage to her apartment building before she realized they were there.

"Woah! That was fast."

"Not for me." Luke joked.

They got out of his truck and walked into the lobby.

"Hey! Julio!" Lorelai yelled when she saw the man working at the front desk. They became long-time best friends when Lorelai moved there because he'd let her rant to him.

Lorelai ran up and hugged him.

"You're back!" He greeted.

"Not for long. Actually… I'm selling."

"No! You're moving?"

"Sadly…"

"Please don't tell me you're going across the street because those apartments have nicer showers."

"Actually… I'm moving back home to Connecticut."

"No way!"

"Uh-huh."

Luke cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Oh! Sorry! Um, Julio, this is Luke!"

Luke and Julio shook hands and greeted each other.

"Um, Luke. Was Julio the one who wouldn't let you up to my apartment?" She knew he'd remember since he remembered every word he wrote. Obviously Julio wouldn't remember since it was five years ago and he sees hundreds of new faces every day.

Luke responded with a nod, causing Lorelai to punch Julio's shoulder.

"Luke came to you five years ago! You could have saved us from so much pain if you let him up!"

"I'm not allowed to let people up to the apartments unless they've been approved in advance by the apartment owner."

"Well, you could have atleast given me the letter he left."

"Oh! You're that guy?" Julio took a glance at Luke but turned back to Lorelai. "I gave the letter to the mailman, he was supposed to get it to you."

"There was no address on it…" Luke pointed out.

"Oh… that's probably why you didn't get it." Julio said to Lorelai.

So rolled her eyes. "So, how do I go about selling?" Lorelai asked.

"I can give you some paper work now, but you'll have to come back down later to do some more. It should only take a day or two."

"Thanks. You're an angel." Lorelai grabbed the papers he got out and turned to Luke. "Come on."

She grabbed Luke's hand and led him towards the elevator. She couldn't stop smiling at him, which caused him to roll his eyes, which caused her to smile even more.

When they got up to her apartment, Luke wasn't surprised at all. There were no dishes in the sink, obviously since Lorelai is probably the only one in the world that likes washing dishes. The stove and oven looked completely unused. She had an overflowing closet with clothes scattered around the room. And of course, the most important thing, Lorelai had four shelves full of movies.

She watched as he looked around.

"You, Lorelai Gilmore, are a crazy woman."

"I know. That's why you love me."

"One of many reasons," he said, walking towards her.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

Just then, her apartment phone rang.

They let voicemail pick it it up.

" _Hey, Lore, it's Chris. Sorry it took me so long to call. Thanks for helping me out a couple weeks ago. With Gigi and with… everything else. Um, call me back. I had fun. Lots of fun."_

Lorelai's eyes widened in shock and embarrassment as Chris' message played.

"Oh my God," she said.

She didn't even tell Rory about what happened with Chris. She was ashamed of it.

"What was that?" Luke asked, pulling away.

Lorelai didn't want to tell him the truth, but he would be able to tell if she was lying.

"I, uh."

"He's always going to be around, isn't he?" Luke asked, hurt. He remembered all the times Lorelai and Chris had gotten together and broken up and then got together again.

"He's Rory's dad, Luke."

"Rory is 24!"

"Luke! It meant nothing! He needed help with Gigi and then it sort of just happened."

"It always seems to 'just happen' with you guys."

"Luke, it was a one time thing. It's not going to happen again. You're the one I love, not him."

"He doesn't seem to think it was a one time thing."

"I'm not trying to seem mean, here, but don't you think you're being a little hypocritical?" Lorelai asked him.

He sighed and thought about his long-term relationship with Katie. Lorelai had just slept with someone, but he had been in a two-year relationship. He had no right to bead. "Yeah, I know. I just really don't like him."

"I know you don't. Look, if it meant anything, I wouldn't have come back to Stars Hollow."

Luke smiled. "I know." He grabbed her hips and pulled her a little closer. Their lips met for a soft kiss.

"I love you," she said, breaking away from the kiss.

"I love you too." Luke leaned back into the kiss, and unlike the first one, this was more powerful.

He held onto her tightly as he pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaned into her body. As the kiss deepened, Lorelai could feel Luke's affection growing. (If you know what I mean ;)

Neither realized that they had been moving until the back of Lorelai's legs hit the bed and she fell backwards, Luke crashing down on top of her. They both laughed for a second before Lorelai got situated. She moved up a little higher on the bed so her whole body fit, and then she gave Luke a nod. He climbed over her and leaned down to kiss her.

Wanting to finally see more of the grumpy diner owner, Lorelai started to unbutton Luke's flannel. She had never actually seen him shirtless, but she knew he had a nice body. He always ate healthy, and he was really strong.

When the flannel came off, Lorelai noticed he was wearing a t-shirt underneath. "Geez, Luke. How many layers are you wearing?"

She started to pull off his t-shirt, and he laughed, knowing she'd be disappointed in what she was going to find.

"Luke!" She yelled as she got the shirt off. He was wearing a skin-tight, white tank top.

He laughed at her and took the liberty of taking this shirt off himself. When it was off, he leaned back down to kiss her.

She ran her hands along his washboard abs. She smiled as she felt them. He was in even better shape than she thought. She knew his abs wouldn't look very defined. Only fitness-nuts or 20 year olds could get abs like that, and Luke was a 40-something year old diner owner. In most circumstances, he'd be fat and bald. But Luke, God, Luke was amazing. His abs were dull enough to look approachable and sweet. They weren't intimidating, but feeling them, she knew how strong they really were.

"Your turn." She heard Luke whisper between kisses.

Lorelai rolled Luke over so she was on top, straddling his lap. She pulled up from the kiss, sitting perpendicular to him. She lifted up her t-shirt revealing her tight stomach and red bra.

She could feel Luke growing even larger through both his and her jeans. It surprised her. How much bigger could he get?

She leaned back down to kiss him, and as they were kissing, he started to unzip his pants.

* * *

Sometime between the phone call and the next morning, all their clothes had come off.

A naked Lorelai was entangled with Luke under the covers. When he woke up, he smiled, remembering where he was. He looked at Lorelai who was facing him, still asleep. She had that 'day-after-sex glow', and her hair was messy.

He slowly pulled his leg out from between the two of hers so he could get up. He put on his pants and flannel. Only one layer this time. He knew she'd be hungry when she woke up. Everyone was always hungry after sex, and he was sure Lorelai was no different. He was sure she'd be starving.

Soon enough, he realized Lorelai had nothing in the fridge or pantry. There was a brochure on the door of the fridge. It looked like an information packet about the apartment building. Why hadn't she thrown it away? She's lived here for 5 years, Luke thought to himself. He picked up the packet and took a look inside. It had a bunch of random information about the area and emergency numbers, but Luke's eyes were instantly drawn to the big red circle. Lorelai had circled the page "Recommended Restaurants Near You!" Luke chucked to himself silently. Of course that's why she kept it.

 _I'm getting you breakfast. Be back soon…_

 _-Luke_

Luke wrote her a note, grabbed the brochure and left to get her some danishes, muffins, pancakes, and whatever else he thought she might want. Of course, he didn't forget the coffee.

When he came back, Lorelai was awake and sitting at the counter with a glass of water. She only had a t-shirt and a pair of underwear on.

Luke's heart started to race at the sight of her, but instead of commenting on it, he asked about a different sight he had never seen before. "You're drinking water? In the morning?"

Lorelai chuckled. "Out of coffee. I was hoping you'd bring some back."

He smiled and handed her the to-go cup he had in his hand.

"Ah! You're an angel!" Lorelai happily grabbed the cup and started sipping. After a long sip, she put the coffee down and looked at the bad Luke was holding. She raised an eyebrow and started to smirk.

He understood what she meant, and put the bag down on the counter. "Danishes, muffins, croissants, toast, and oatmeal," he said as he grabbed everything out of the bag.

"Ew, I don't like oatmeal."

"I know. That's for me."

She smiled up at him and then became serious. "Thank you, Luke."

He lowered his voice. "You're welcome."

Luke walked over to her and kissed her lightly on her forehead. She pulled him back down as he started to turn away and pressed her lips to his.

"I love you, Luke," she said as their lips pulled apart.

"I love you, Lorelai." He pulled away and it took him a couple seconds to open his eyes. He let a soft smirk show when he saw her smiling. "Well, I better get going."

"No!"

"I have to get back. Caesar's probably going to burn the place down if I don't get back soon."

Lorelai sighed. "Jess is there."

Luke just smirked at her.

"I know, I know. I'm not sure how long I'll be. Call me everyday."

Luke smiled. "I will." He placed one last kiss on her lips before walking out the door. It was time to go home, and he couldn't wait until Lorelai got back.

She traced a finger along her lips where Luke had kissed her. This was it. This was why relationships never seemed perfectly right to Lorelai. It's because none of them were with Luke. She smiled to herself as she breathed in the food he left. Luke was the one for her.

* * *

 **A/N – Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I've been** _ **super**_ **busy with school. I've got finals coming up and I've got 2 weeks left. Anyways, I hope you like it.**

 **And I have news! This is** _ **not**_ **the last chapter. I was planning on 2 chapters but I'm extending it to 3. I have a couple more ideas and I want to add them into the story but if I added it to this chapter, it'd probably end up being 18,000 words, so I'm splitting it up.**

 **I hope you like it. Please** **review** **. I really love reading them and responding and they help a lot with my writing.**

 **Thanks!**

 **(PS – Sorry about the, uh,** _ **more romantic**_ **scenes. I'm not really good at writing stuff like that and I usually skip that part, but I added a little more than usual in this story. Sorry if you don't like it, and let me know what I can do better!)**


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